Delhi Rwas Launch Citizen Monitoring Campaign To Monitor Air Pollution

Delhi RWAs launch citizen monitoring campaign to monitor air pollution

New Delhi, Nov 26th : .The United Residents Joint Action of Delhi (URJA), a consortium of more that 2,500 resident welfare associations in Delhi, launched a citizen-driven monitoring campaign on Friday to accelerate the fight against pollution.
Representatives from 13 hotspots in Delhi will work closely alongside the Municipal Corporations of Delhi to report violations such as waste burning, debris dumping, or other issues in their area.

 Delhi Rwas Launch Citizen Monitoring Campaign To Monitor Air Pollution-TeluguStop.com

Both pre- and post-Diwali Delhi has seen a consistent’very poor’ or’severe” Air Quality Index (AQI) both before and after Diwali.

The Supreme Court has reprimanded both the Centre as well as the state government for failing to control pollution levels.

In 2019, the Central Pollution Control Board and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), identified Rohini and Okhla Phase-2 as hotspots in Delhi.

Hotspots have an average annual PM10 concentration exceeding 300 Ig/m3 with a PM2.5 concentration greater than 100 Ig/m3.CPCB safety standards for PM10 and PM2.5 are 60 Ig/m3 respectively and 40 Ig/m3.

According to URJA, “Waste burning and construction & demolition waste (C&D) have been identified as the key problem areas for pollution at hotspots.”

As hotspots remain polluted, URJA and its nominated members will monitor compliance and implementation by maintaining constant contact with the deputy commissioners for the respective MCD zones of hotspots and monitoring violations.

Representatives will also invite other residents to join WhatsApp groups to capture images and videos of garbage burning at night, C&D waste dumping, and fumes from restaurants, industries, and roadside cooking.

Atul Goyal, President of URJA, stated that the air pollution in these hotspots is consistent high and that the government must implement the action plans.

These hotspots have the highest levels of pollution and residents can make the biggest changes to improve the situation.

“We must establish accountability for the state government to its citizens, and demand a roadmap to reduce 12 percent annual pollution reduction and two thirds by 2025, just like was done during the Delhi elections.”

Experts also recommend citizens’ participation in better policy implementation.

“Pollution hotspots exist because of the local, often dispersed, sources that add to the mix.Although there are many rules and norms that can be used to reduce air pollution at these hot areas, they are difficult to enforce without citizen participation, cooperation, and awareness.RWAs play a crucial mediating role – both aiding governments and holding agencies accountable,” Dr.Santosh Harish, Fellow of the think tank Centre for Policy Research said.

Data from the NCAP Tracker shows that the PM2.5 concentrations at 13 hotspots was above the CPCB’s limits of 40 micrograms/cubic metre (ug/m3) for most of the year.All locations had a PM2.5 level of 400 to 500 ug/m3 on their worst days.This was more than 10 times higher than the CPCB’s limits, and 20 times the WHO’s revised Air Quality guidelines.

The DPCC had earlier this month identified five high-polluting zones in Delhi-NCR that are adjacent to existing hotspots for pollution.These five areas are Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar (Peeragarhi), Rohtak road and Azadpur, as well as Sarai Rohilla.

niv/pgh

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Disclaimer : TeluguStop.com Editorial Team not involved in creation of this article & holds no responsibility for its content..This Article is Provided by IANS, Please contact IANS if any issues in Article .


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